Howard, Carmel outlast Vernon Hills

Kaitlyn Howard came up big at the net for Carmel's volleyball team Tuesday night.

The senior middle hitter registered 11 kills and 7 blocks to lead the Corsairs to a 25-18, 19-25, 25-21 win over visiting Vernon Hills in a nonconference match.

Carmel (17-12) also got 9 and 7 kills from Vanessa Toby and Megan Paterkiewicz, respectively. Brooke Bowes added 5 kills, and Kelsey Fredrick had 11 digs. Toby also served a pair of aces.

Vernon Hills (17-10-1) received 9 kills from Rachael Ramsey, 4 aces from Caitlin McKenna, 20 assists from Kelsey Guglielmi and 10 digs from Ramsey. Brianna Skeens chipped in 6 kills and McKenna had five for the Cougars.

"Game 1, we made way too many hitting errors to really make a push to win," Vernon Hills coach Abbie Gutzmer said. "We came out strong in Games 2 and 3 but couldn't put it away at the end of Game 3.

"I thought Kaitlyn Howard dominated the end of our match, and we just couldn't respond."

Gutzmer added that she thought Ramsey and Skeens had good games for the Cougars.

Lake Zurich d. Waukegan: Crystal Wright hammered 11 kills for the Bears in their 25-14, 25-17 victory.

Jen Grunden added 5 kills and 3 aces for Lake Zurich (22-5). Lydia Bauer dished out 10 assists.

Antioch d. Zion-Benton: Katie Lonergan's 9 kills led the Sequoits to a 25-23, 25-12 win in a North Suburban Conference crossover.

Melisa Ori lofted 13 assists and Megan Toczek contributed 6 aces, 5 blocks and 3 kills for Antioch (23-5).

Said Antioch coach Glen Heitman: "On a night where we couldn't get the ball to our middles or run much of an offense, we made up for it with good defense, strong blocks and aggressive serving."

Prairie Ridge d. Grayslake North: Megan Falk had 3 kills and 11 digs for the Knights in their 25-15, 25-23 loss in Fox Valley Fox Division action.

Alex Lowry had 3 kills and 2 blocks for Grayslake North (11-16, 1-6), while Kaitlyn Klausner added 7 assists and 3 kills.

CL Central d. Grayslake C.: Shannon Curtis recorded 5 kills and Brittany Gibson lofted 10 assists for the Rams, who fell 25-9, 25-19 in Fox Valley Fox Division play.

"It took a while for us to get going, but when we got going we looked good," Grayslake Central coach Jason Janczak said. "(Crystal Lake) Central is a great team and we were excited to hang with them."